Fastening member



L. B. GREEN FASTENING MEMBER June 6, 1950 Filed March 29, 1944 INVENTOR. 55 5 Gees/v lhuuunil I,

Patented June 6, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FASTENING MEMBER Lee B. Green, Lakewood, Ohio Application March 29, 1944, Serial No. 528,593

4 Claims.

This invention relates to fastening members and, more specifically, aims'to provide a novel form of construction for nails, screws, rivets, staples and the like.

Another object of this invention" is to provide a novel form of construction for fastening members'of the kind mentioned, in which such members aremade of plastic material having a fibrous reinforcing medium therein.

. A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and economical form of construction and for fastening members of the kind having a stem portion and a head or holding portion, and in which such members are made of a plastic material and having reinforcing fibers therein extending along the stem portion and into the head or holding portion.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel form of construction for composite fastening members of the character mentioned, in which the plastic material is a so-called thermoplastic material so as to render certain of such fastening members susceptible of desired operations such as upsetting, thread-rolling or' the like;

The present invention also provides a novel form of composite stock suitable for various uses including the production of different forms of fastening members.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing in which:

Fig'. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section and more or less diagrammatic in form, illustrating my novel composite fastening members;

Figs. 2, 3 and 4' are longitudinal sectional views of novel fastening members of the present invention, Fig. 2 showing a nail, Fig. 3 showing a screw and Fig. 4 showing a rivet;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a, fastening formed with the rivet of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a staple produced according to this invention;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing composite or reinforced plastic stock of tubular form;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a hollow rivet produced by the present invention; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing a fastening in which the hollow rivet of Fig. 8 is used.

As already indicated in a general way, this invention provides novel forms of non-metallic composite or reinforced plastic fastening members. At this point of the description it is suiiicient, to explain that the invention provides reinforced plastic stock from which the above men- 1 as indicated at I6a and is provided at its other tioned fastening members can be made, and which stock can be either in the form of a solid rod [0 as shown in Fig. 1 or in the form of a hollow rod II as shown in Fig. 7. The stock is a solidified plastic material having reinforcing fibers l2 running substantially longitudinally therein and, as hereinafter explained in detail, is formed by impregnating a fibrous strand l3 with a suitable thermoplastic material M.

In the drawing I have shown, by way of example, several fastening members which can be produced from the above mentioned fiberreinforced plastic stock. In Fig. 2 I show one of such fastening members in the form of a nail I5 having a stem l6 which is pointed at one end end with an integrally formed upset head or holding portion IT.

The plastic nail I6 can be used as a fastening member in constructing or repairing furniture, for securing roofing material in place and for many other uses in which conventional metal nails have been employed heretofore. The nail l5 can be driven in the same manner as a, conventional metal nail and, depending upon the character of the material into which it is to be driven, may or may not require a preformed hole. In Fig. 3 I show a fastening member in the form of a screw 18 made of fiber-reinforced plastic stock. The screw here shown comprises a stem l9 having an external helical thread 2!] rolled thereon and a head or holding portion 2| formed integral with such stem. This screw can be made by first producing a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic screw blank having a cylindrical stem and thenrolling the thread 20 on such stem by the use of threading dies similar to the conventional thread rolling dies used for producing metal screws but which are heated to cause .sufiicient softening of the plastic material to enable the thread 20 to be formed.

The screw Hi can be screwed into a tapped opening or into a conventional nut, and can be used for many clamping or fastening purposes where conventional metal screws have been used heretofore.

The fastening member shown in Fig. 4 is a rivet 22 made of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material or stock. The rivet comprises a stem or shank 23 and an upset integral head 24 at one end of such stem.

An important feature involved in each of the headed fastening members shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 is that the reinforcing fibers l2 of the plastic material from which these members are made, run longitudinally of the stems of these members and extend therefrom into the preformed head or holding portion. These fibers extend into the head in laterally spreading relation so that all portions of the head will be reinforced by such fibers and cracking or breaking of the head will be prevented. By thus extending the reinforcing fibers from the stem into the head of the fastening member the head will be strongly joined to the stem. and. there will be little likelihood of the. head breaking from the stem.

In Fig. 5, I show a fastening formed by the use of the rivet 22 of Fig. 4. The fastening here shown comprises a pair of plates 26 and 21 which are held in connected relation by means of the rivet 22. The rivet extends through preformed openings 26a and 21a, of the plates and has its head or connecting portion 24 lying on one side of the plates and an upset head 28 on the opposite sides of the plates. In producing such a fastening the stern of the rivet is inserted through. the preformed opening 26a and 21a and isupset by means of pressure applied thereto by a heated riveting tool to form the head. The head thusiormed will also have, the reinforcing fibers l2 extending thereinto from the stem 23 such that this head will. constitute a strong holding portion which,

is not likely to be broken away from the stem.

' In 6 I show a staple sflwhich is also made from fiber-reinforced plastic stool: and can be produced by any suitable staple forming mechanism operating on such stock. The staple here shown comprises spaced arms or stems 3| joined together at one end thereof by means-of a transverse holding portion or arch 32. The spaced arms 3| are pointed at their freeends as indicatedv at 3|a. The. reinforcing fibers I! run longitudinally of the arms 3| andv extend therefrom into. the holding portion 32. and across the angular junctions 33 by which the arms are joinedto the holdingportion. By thus extending the. reinforcing fibers across these junctions, the

staple is strongly reinforced: at these points and.

thetendency for the arms 3| tospread away from each other is.substantially preventedi The staple 3|l can be used for any of the purposes for. which conyentional metal staples are used, for example, it can bedriven. into wood or other material for holding wires or sheet material thereagainst.

In. Fig. 8 I show a hollow rivet 35 which can be made from the fiber-reinforced'hollow plastic stock II. This, rivet comprisesa hollow stem 36 haying an upset holding portion or head 3] at one end: thereof.- along thestem 3B and intothe head 3'| so that the latter will be reinforced and strongly, connected with thestem. In addition to its use for making. hollow rivets and other hollow parts, the hollow stoclrv |.|v can. be used for pipes and conduits.

In Fig. 9 I show a fastening using the hollow rivet 35 of Fig. 8. The fastening here shown comprises a pair of plates 38 and 39 held in clamped or connected relation by means of the hollow rivet 35 extending through preformed openings 33c and 39a thereof. In forming this fastening, the stem of the rivet is inserted through the openings 38a and 39a and is upset by means of a suitable heated riveting tool applied thereto to form the upset head or holding portion 40 on the free end of the stem. The fibers: 2 extend into the head land reinforce the same.

For certainuses it may be desirable that one or more of the above described fastening members be colored. This can be achieved by using a The reinforcing fibers I! extend 4 colored plastic material in producing the fasten.- ing members.

Fig. 1 of the drawing shows one form of apparatus which can be used in producing the fiber reinforced plastic stock and in making therefrom the above described fastening members. The fiber strand l3 may be composed of any suitable fibers, for example, it may consist of vegetable fibers such as hemp or the like. strand It! can. also be formed of hair. or. other animal fibers or could even be formed of small metal wires. The fibers constituting the strand l3 extend generally. longitudinally thereof, although, if desired, the strand can be one formed with a twist therein for maintaining the fibers in more compact relation to each other. A suitable supply of the fiber strand |3 is provided by a rotatably mounted spool or drum 42 from which the strand is unwound by being pulled therefrom.

m e 2. 1. be tte si. a e intoan. impregnating device. 4}. The device. 41 comprisesv a suitable'container or tank 44, con-, taining a quantity of plastic material H in a soft or. fluid condition. plastic material can be maintained in this condition by supplying heat tothe tank 44; asby meansof the heating element 45 lying ce h w ll Q1. he ank. an o. which appropriate heatingmediumsuch as steam, electricity. or the likels supplied, The container 44. may also, include. a. suitable cover 41 at the. top thereof.

A peripherally grooved 4] is rotatably mountedin the container so that a, portion of the drum dips. or extends into.theplastic material M. The strand, lipasse into the impregnating. tank 44 through a gripping device I; and is wrapped around. the peripherally grooved drum 'e e a e ed th t imfi he t and leaves h e e: t nk ml vsh s. new e i r embe h an i dmir s. through t p na i de ise .8. ame s, aroundthedrulh I]. it is m r eqm the plastic material ll soasto becomesoalged or impregnated with such material. Asthe impregnated strand enters thedelivery member-li eness plastic marial sc aped imm raps, y. mea s Q: a. scraper. 5|! tl irough which. the .strandjpesses.

The above mentioned grippingdevlce llispro; videdv for the purpose of maintaining the strand l3 under. tension as, itis pulled t rough regnating device 43, This gripp ,device. may comprise pair. of gripping. elements ljaand of which the. element "of is stationaryand the element 481) a movable. element urged toward the stationaryelement the compression springs T b ve he ce. ive membe can. be maintained in the desired, heated conflition by a heating. element 5% 1e 1:nt iie 1;l t lie eln.

The. impregnated. strand. leaving. the device. 43 is subjected to a cooling or. solidifying treatment, e b m tem a eer ma hs m r snating d s liil'x ngrea men may pr o ng the ma i see. fin 'bv passing the. same. through a. cooling. device 5% which is maintained at the desiredtmper ature. bycirculating water. or other. cooling medium ht ua s ea '03 fi wnii. an

delivery pipes sl a dfslb. 'Ifhecoolirig or the impregnated. strand causes a haridenipmor solid-v ificationof. the plastic material'alod results-in the fiber-reinforced. plastic. rod. or stock "I I can thenbeused for making. the. above described a en e lie err ny. qtlh ea min-I. pose n his nstants, l h rih'e M ts n e tgehswms machine m ltimeter bodies a feed mechanism 5'! for pulling the strand l3 through the impregnating device 43 and feeding it into the dies of the heading machine.

The machine 56 can be a heading machine of any appropriate construction and which embodies a pair of cooperating gripipng and forming dies 60 and 6| and a heading or upsetting die 62. The dies 60 and GI are reciprocably movable toward and away from each other for gripping and shaping the leading end or section of the stock 10 to form the stem portion of a fastening member which, in this instance, is in the form of the nail 15. The dies 60 and BI can be actuated by cams or any other appropriate mechanism (not shown) and have heating elements or passages 63 therein, so that they can be maintained in a heated condition for softening and shaping the thermoplastic stock upon which they operate.

The heading die 62 is also a reciprocable die having a work engaging portion or end 62a which cooperates with the pair of dies 60 and 6| so as to engage and upset the end of the stock It while it is being gripped by such pair of dies. The upsetting operation forms the head I! on the nail l5. The work-engaging portion of the die 62 is maintained in a heated condition as by means of heating elements or passages 65 therein. The desired actuation of the heading die 62, in properly timed relation to the forward feeding of the stock and the gripping thereof by the dies 60 and 6|, can be obtained by means of the pivoted lever 66 and a rotatable cam 51 cooperating with such lever and driven by the shaft 58.

The feed mechanism 51 comprises a reciprocable head 10 having a spring actuated gripping element 7| therein. Reciprocating movement is imparted to the head 51 by a lever 12 which is actuated from the cam 61 by means of the cam follower 13. The gripping element H is shaped so that during movement of the head 10 toward the (lies of the machine 55, the stock will be gripped and fed forward so "as to bring the leading end of the stock into a desired position between the dies 60 and 61. Upon movement of the head 7'0 away from the dies of the machine 56, the element 1i releases its grip and permits the head to move over the stock.

In feeding the stock l to the dies of the machine 56 the leading end can be guided as by means of a pair of guide members 15 located just ahead of the dies 60 and 61. A reciprocable cutoff member 16 located alongside the dies 60 and 61 serves to sever the completed fastening member I from the stock, so that upon opening of the dies the completed fastening member can fall or be ejected therefrom. The cut-off member 16 can be actuated in properly timed relation from the same mechanism which actuates the dies 60 and 6 l.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings it will now be understood that the present invention provides a novel form of construction for fastening members as well as a novel form of bar stock for producing such members. It will be seen also that in the fastening members above described the reinforcing fibers run substantially longitudinally in the stock and in the stem portions of the fastening members formed from such stock and extend into the heads or holding portions of the fastening members to strongly reinforce the same.

While I have illustrated and described the fastening members of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be correspondingly limited but regard my invention as including all changes and modifications coming within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A rivet or the like comprising a stem having a head on one end thereof, said stem and head being formed of solidified non-metallic plastic material having fibers therein running longitudinally of the stem and extending continuously into said head in laterally spreading relation, said plastic material being capable of being heat-softened to permit the formation of a fiberreinforced head on the other end of said stem.

2. A nail formed of solidified non-metallic plastic material and having integrally connected stem and head portions and longitudinally extending reinforcing fibers in the stern portion and extending therefrom into the head portion in continuous and laterally spreading relation.

3. A fastening member of the type having a stem portion and a preformed head portion and adapted to be driven by the application of force to the head portion, comprising an elongated body of solidified non-metallic thermoplastic material consisting of a stem portion and a preformed head portion integral with said stem portion and connected with one end of the latter, and fibrous reinforcing strands running generally longitudinally in said body and extending in continuous relation from said stem portion into said head portion, the reinforcing strand portions contained in said head portion having a laterally spreading relation therein.

4. A fastening member as defined in claim 3, in which the fibrous reinforcing strands are vegetable fibres.

LEE B. GREEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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